From capitalist production to neoliberal lifestyle

Abstract Textbooks provide learners with a particular version of social reality by indexing dominant discourses, values and aspirations. Situated in Multimodal Critical Discourse Studies ( Machin 2013 ), this paper analyzes the visual representation of social relations and social actors in three nationally-produced/adapted English Language Teaching series in Uruguay from 1933 to 2023. Drawing on social actor analysis ( van Leeuwen 2008 ; Ledin and Machin 2020 ), I examine the ideological implications of these representations and how they index broader sociopolitical contexts. Findings point to differences in how social categories such as class, gender and race are foregrounded/backgrounded in each period. However, they also point to a covert ideological continuity through time: collectively, all three series consolidate a progressive shift from a capitalist to a neoliberal ideology.